You might be thinking that just because it’s winter and there’s no danger of getting sunburnt, that winter weather is a time you can take a break from worrying about your skin. Think again!!!

Cold winds and dry air from central heating which pulls moisture from your skin, can leave your face looking and feeling very dry and parched. Usually we don’t drink as much water in the winter or eat as many fresh salads or fruit so that adds to the dehydration problem. The delicate skin around the eyes can get extremely dry and sore in winter, especially in cold winds, which can lead to the fine lines around the eyes looking much deeper and more prominent.

Technically what happens is that the outer layer of our skin – the horny layer – can’t hold on to the water that comes from deeper skin layers and we lose moisture by evaporation.
To hold the water in your skin, you need a humectant which is an ingredient that attracts water. The most common is glycerine which is a very strong binder of water and is an excellent hydrating ingredient.

Water

The recommended amount of water for women is about 1.5 litres/day and I think most women struggle to drink that amount as pure water in the winter. We tend to favour hot drinks – tea, coffee, hot chocolate – all of which are diuretics and further dehydrate our skin. Hot or warm water though, can be flavoured with a slice of lemon or lime; mint leaves make a very refreshing drink; white tea is good and is said to strengthen collagen and elastin.
Whilst it’s lovely and comforting to have hot baths and wash your face with steaming hot water, if it’s excessively hot, it will strip the natural healthy oils from your skin. If you use water on your face, the general consensus is that warm or lukewarm water is best.

If you apply your moisturiser to slightly warm skin you’ll find it’s absorbed much more easily. It’s not a good idea though to put your moisturiser into boiling water to warm it up, [it has happened!] you destroy the emulsification and it will separate into oil and water! You’ve just lost your moisturiser.

Sun protection
Yes, you do still need it, even though it’s winter and the sun is not glaring down on you.

Even though it’s cold and you can’t feel the warmth of the sun, don’t be fooled into thinking that it isn’t there and isn’t affecting you.
Despite the debate about Vitamin D levels and not getting enough exposure to sunlight, it’s important to understand what UV radiation is and how it affects your skin.
UV radiation is the number one factor responsible for skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. In fact, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization have identified broad spectrum UV as a human carcinogen.

UV radiation has 3 specific wavebands
They differ in their biological activity and the depth to which they penetrate into the skin.
The two you need to know about are
UVA and UVB

UVA is the long wavelength (320-400 nm) and accounts for up to 95 percent of the solar UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface.
It can penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and has for years been thought to play a major part in skin ageing and wrinkling.
The important thing to remember is that UVA rays are present during all daylight hours including the winter months so we need to protect ourselves.
It’s also useful to know that it can penetrate through clouds and glass – which means that any windows you sit by are not protecting you!

UVB is the middle-range of UV with wavelengths between 290-320 nm.
It’s responsible for burning, tanning and acceleration of skin ageing and plays a key role in the development of skin cancer. It doesn’t penetrate through glass like UVA.

Find protection that offers multi-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB.
Just because a sunscreen states a high SPF rating, it doesn’t mean it protects against both forms of UV radiation. Read the label to make sure you have proper protection.

Warning over ‘epidemic’ of skin allergies from chemicals in cosmetics and household products

I wonder how many people took this headline seriously. We should, because it could have wider implications than we realise.

At last, the news is out that chemicals you put on your skin can have consequences for your health; in fact, you could say that your skin is an excellent drug delivery system! After all, that’s why hormone patches and nicotine patches work! So it should come as no surprise that MI (methylisothiazolinone) has negative effects on your skin.

In a world that in increasingly toxic I believe we no longer have the physiological capacity to deal with the huge rise in toxic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis in one form or another.

Since World War 11, 80,000 new synthetic chemicals have been produced and released into the environment – pesticides, herbicides, chemical solvents, xenobiotics, toxic metals, plasticisers, disinfectants, chemicals from industrial pollution, nitrates and fertilisers, not to mention the rise in smoking and second hand smoke, – and those are just a handful of what’s on offer.

As far back as 1962, the potential risk from chemicals was highlighted by Rachel Carson in her ground breaking book Silent Spring.

Whilst many companies claim that toxicology studies are done on a particular chemical, what no one can do is assess the risks when different chemicals are combined. If you think about it, it’s an impossible task, where would you begin? There is no way you could test all the different combinations.

Most women are using hundreds of chemicals on a daily basis – shower gel, deodorant, moisturiser, eye cream, night cream, eye shadow, eye liner, lip liner, blusher, lipstick etc and they’re using them every single day.

Many of these chemicals are fat soluble. That means they are stored in fatty/adipose tissue in your body and the organ with the highest % of fat is your brain!

At the moment, the focus is on skin and allergies, but how long will it take to recognise that the increase in brain diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers, just might have something to do with the rise in chemicals in our environment, in our homes, in the products we put on our skin and which, I believe, based on the work I do with clients who suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, are no longer metabolised by an overloaded liver.

When you realise that your liver has specific pathways that deal with all the toxicity most of us are exposed to, it makes sense to support and look after it, which could mean changing your diet, giving up alcohol, changing the products you use, going on a detox, taking appropriate supplements to support liver function..…….there are many options! There’s a school of thought that says ‘detoxing’ isn’t necessary and it’s a waste of time and money, but your liver is fundamental to your health so it makes sense to take the very best care of it.

Did you hear the recent news about a Canadian crash victim, who has been in a vegetative state for more than 10 years and has told scientists through the power of thought that he is not in pain?

Did you know that Edgar Mitchell, the NASA astronaut in Apollo 13 transmitted symbols back to earth using nothing more than the power of thought?

Did you read about Taurus, a submarine that was submerged to a depth of 558 feet [170m] so that it would be out of the range of ELF [extremely low frequencies]. Despite this electromagnetic isolation, a highly experienced Remote Viewer [as part of a research study funded by the CIA at Stanford University] was still able to describe the precise location of 2 colleagues who had been sent to an unknown destination by a 3rd party, at the simultaneous time of her ‘viewing’.

These are just 3 types of communication which are real and have been documented. They stretch our imagination and force us to accept facts that we once thought were impossible and unbelievable.

The idea that I have programmed and energised my range of skincare [Celgenics] with ‘healing energy’ from a variety of energy medicine therapies is probably, for some people, also hard to accept.

There’s a well known quotation: “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident”Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 – 1860)

Out of my work as a therapist, I developed the range for a client who was allergic to conventional skincare with its many toxic chemicals. Because I work with many ‘energy medicine’ therapies, my light-bulb moment was to incorporate the work I do in my practice into my creams and to send my healing message out into the world.

Fortunately, I am in good company – Dr. Larry Dossey, M.D. the highly respected author of nine books and numerous articles, has lectured all over the world in major medical schools, on the subject of “nonlocal mind” . That is, mind and thoughts not confined to the brain and body but that spread throughout space and time!

It’s a radical shift for our logical minds but many leading scientists are increasingly accepting this new ‘truth’ that offers us a totally different image of consciousness!

It’s quite a conundrum for many women who have greasy or oily skin, so if you’re one of them you’re in good company – Victoria Beckham and Alicia Keyes have apparently both said that that they’ve suffered from greasy skin and acne.

Oily or greasy skin tends to look a bit shiny and has enlarged pores, it’s also prone to getting pimples, blackheads and blemishes and when you’re in your teens, acne can be a big problem as well. There’s good news though, although you may hate it when you’re young, as you get older you tend to have fewer wrinkles, so that’s something to look forward to!

There are lots of reasons why you might have oily skin, hormones often play a part especially if you use the contraceptive pill; you may secrete too much sebum which is a common cause of oily skin and dark skin is often oily as it has more sweat glands and sebaceous glands than white skin; using oils that are too fatty on your skin will also exacerbate the problem.

Looking after oily skin doesn’t have to be difficult; the trick is to remove the excess sebum without drying up the skin. How do you do this?

You need to use a very gentle cleanser and twice a day is plenty. If you over-cleanse or do too much peeling using products that dry out your skin, your body starts to overproduce sebum. It’s also a mistake to use abrasive exfoliants because you strip the skin of its natural acid mantle which protects the skin from bacteria. Using the right toner [with no alcohol] can help to close up pores which means you reduce the possibility of inflammation from dust and dirt getting into the pores.

Unfortunately, there’s a myth that says you shouldn’t put oils onto oily skin. This is both true and not true – it’s certainly true if you use oils which are comedogenic, meaning that they block the pores. By contrast, you want to give your skin the right oils so that you help regulate sebum production and your sebaceous glands can have time off! This way you help your skin move toward being a more ‘normal’ skin type.

When you’re looking for a suitable moisturiser for oily skin, read the label and see what plant oils have been included. The important thing you need to know is what to avoid, [despite what the advertising says] and what oils will actually benefit your skin.

Oils that your skin will love are those with high quantities of omega-3 fatty acids, these are thin, dry oils and quickly absorbed – Kiwi seed, Chia seed, Thistle and Rosehip are all excellent. The oils you need to avoid or check that they’re used in very small quantities are Olive, Neem, Macadamia, Moringa, Camelina, Coconut oil, Castor oil and also products that are paraffin based or that contain a lot of emulsifiers as these too can clog pores.

You can also use clay masks but only use the masks on the parts of your face that are oily and choose green or yellow clays which are best for oily skin.

Looking after oily skin starts from the inside – what you eat is really important.

Wise choices in what you eat and what you put on your skin will pay you back many times over. It’s worth remembering that everything you put on your skin is absorbed, after all, that’s why hormone and nicotine patches work and everything you eat and feed your body with will be reflected in your general health which includes the health of your skin. You are what you eat!

Before I started my skincare company – Celgenics – I worked with many women to address their hormone problems. One of the questions that was frequently asked is why do women often start losing their hair as they get older, especially in their late 40’s and 50’s?

There are many causes of hair loss but one of the most common and often undiagnosed causes in this age bracket is a low functioning thyroid. As women age their thyroid function tends to decline and unfortunately the time of peri-menopause and menopause is when women really need good thyroid function.

Low thyroid function is an underlying problem for many women and quite commonly it’s never picked up until she reaches peri-menopause when her energy drops to the floor and she feels she’s literally dragging herself around.

The relationship of thinning hair to thyroid function is that every single cell in your body is dependent on having adequate thyroid hormone levels. The thyroid gland produces 2 major hormones, thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3) and they work to help the cells produce energy, otherwise known as ATP [adenosine triphosphate]. The thyroid gland secretes about 1 teaspoon of thyroid hormone [thyroxine] over a year and even though that’s a tiny amount, if the balance of T4 and T3 is wrong, then a wide range of symptoms can develop: Hair loss, brittle nails, cold hands and feet, constipation, dry skin, high cholesterol, poor memory, puffy eyes, weight gain, to list just a few.

Unfortunately, it appears that hypothyroidism [as it’s known clinically] is frequently undiagnosed.

The conventional approach to diagnosing low thyroid function has been to measure TSH [thyroid stimulating hormone]. If the TSH test comes back raised, a diagnosis of hypothyroidism is made. If the result is normal then it’s usually assumed that there’s no problem with the thyroid.

Unfortunately this test doesn’t take into account the levels of T4 and T3 which can give a much more precise picture of thyroid health. If you think your thyroid is low, then it’s worth getting a comprehensive thyroid screen carried out which will measure T4 , T3 as well as antibodies which may indicate an auto immune condition such as Graves disease or Hashimoto’s.

Physical signs of low thyroid are very dry skin, hair loss, dry and hard skin on the heels, loss of the outer third of the eyebrow.

Conventional treatment relies mainly on using Thyroxine, a synthetic form of thyroxine. Another approach is to use a dessicated glandular thyroid product; Armour is a common one in the UK but requires a prescription by a GP. Another approach is to work with a nutritional therapist and use glandular products that have had thyroid hormones removed but work by supporting your thyroid to produce more T4 and T3. Many people find that homeopathic thyroid support works well.

Glandular products are usually derived from porcine thyroid so may not be appropriate for some religious groups, however, there are certainly other options to try.

Once the thyroid is properly supported, all those symptoms such as fatigue, hair loss, hard skin on the heels, weight gain can be resolved! It really can turn peoples’ lives around.

If you suspect your thyroid is low, there are foods that prevent the conversion of T4 to T3 so you could try cutting them down or taking them out of your diet to see if it makes a difference.

Believe it not, cruciferous vegetables which we’re all told to eat, can prevent the conversion of T4 to T3.

These are things like cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The other food which lots of people are eating nowadays is non fermented Soy! Foods like soy milk, soy cheese, tofu etc all fall into this category.

Other factors associated with poor conversion include chronic illness, fasting, heavy metal toxicity, poor adrenal function, high stress levels, fasting and cigarettes to name but a few.

SUMMARY

If you have any of the symptoms listed and they don’t respond to changes in diet, rest, more sleep, less stress etc, it’s a good idea to get a comprehensive thyroid test done which includes testing T4 and T3.

Bear in mind that the conventional test measure thyroid hormones in the blood whereas the hormones are actually doing their work within the cells.

Work with a doctor who is prepared to look at your symptoms from a holistic view point or find a nutritional therapist/naturopath who can arrange for you to have the appropriate lab tests and can suggest glandular products to take.

Correcting your low functioning thyroid can make a huge difference to your enjoyment of life.

There’s a lot of talk about essential fatty acids and how important they are. But did you know that your skin also needs them?

Fatty acids are essential for your skin

Every cell in your body has a thin protective membrane around it and essential fatty acids (EFA’s) help to keep it healthy which means soft and permeable. Why permeable you might be asking? So that nutrients can get into the cells and toxins can get out.

Essential fatty acids are the ‘life force’ of the membrane of every cell in your body including nerve cells in your brain. They control every bodily function from wiggling your little toe to fluttering your eye lashes. Essential fatty acids are omega 3’s and 6’s and we need them in the right proportions because they’re so essential to our well being and we can’t make them ourselves, we have to ingest them in the form of foods or supplements.

For a long time nobody knew what the correct proportion was and it’s still a hotly debated subject, but a study was done by a man called Yehuda in Israel in 1993which determined that the ratio should be 4:1, 4 parts omega 6 to one part omega 3. Omega 6 is also known as Linoleic acid and omega 3 is known as Linolenic Acid.

When you’re depleted in essential fatty acids, the cell membrane doesn’t function efficiently and so the movement of toxins and nutrients across the cell membrane is compromised. A common symptom you are deficient in EFA’s is dry skin.

Do you have a ‘snowstorm’ of dry, flaky skin when you get undressed? It’s more common than you might think.

Not only do you need EFA’s for your skin, you need them for hormones, your immune system, pain and inflammation and good gut function, to name but a few of the essential roles they have in your body.

You can do an experiment and see the difference. Try taking the correct ratio of 4:1 essential fatty acids for a month; you’ll probably need to take about 2 tablespoons/day to make a difference. Make sure that you find an omega 3 oil that is not rancid! Yes, they do go rancid. But there are one or two brands who test for rancidity before and after production and who also test for the presence of toxic metals. Fish oils can carry a lot of toxic metals.

I started Celgenics by accident; I never intended to start a skincare company but of course nothing is an accident and everything we do is preparation for the future. On a summer’s evening 4 years ago, a client was lying on my treatment table, telling me that she was going shopping the following day for a moisturiser. She hated looking for skincare because she was allergic to all the parabens and sodium laurel sulfates that are used as preservatives. I had been doing lots of ‘detox’ work with her because she was very sensitive to perfumes, petrol fumes, hair dyes and lots of foods, but in particular, sugar, which she absolutely loved.

It so happened [serendipity?] that a few months previously, I had spent a lot of money learning how to make creams, serums, cleansers and lots more lovely natural skincare products. I offered to make her a moisturiser which, happily, was a great success and she asked me to make 7 more for her sisters as Christmas presents.

Sugar affects our skin in many ways

So that was how I started and there’s lots more to the story, but the point I want to make is that what we put on our skin, what we eat, what we’re exposed to in the way of toxic chemicals such as paints, pesticides, herbicides to name but a few, can have a profound impact on our health. Sugar is now ubiquitous in our diets. We’re eating more and more of it, in sweets, in biscuits, in Coca Cola and fizzy drinks. It’s so much a part of most people’s lifestyles that we never think about any negative effects it might be having.

Every time you eat sugar you deplete your body of zinc and chromium because they’re both needed to make insulin. And every time you eat sugar, your body has to produce insulin. Insulin is the only hormone we have that reduces blood glucose levels. The sugar ‘rush’ that you get makes you feel nervous and stimulates the brain to crave more sugar. Over time this constant production of insulin produces what’s known as insulin resistance where the cells become resistant to insulin and the constant production of adrenal hormones to keep your energy going can ultimately lead to adrenal exhaustion.

How many people do you know who eat lots of chocolate and biscuits who say they need it to give them energy but who wake up tired and are permanently exhausted? These people frequently have a whole host of allergies.

Over 20 years most of my work has been helping people back to health by looking at toxicity and out of that has grown my new passion – Celgenics – it encompasses all the ‘healing’ tools I use in my practice and which I want to spread into the world!

Not only does it make you tired…it also makes you age. As well as reducing your sex hormones!

Sugar contributes to the ageing process of cells in a range of ways. It’s a sticky substance, and literally sticks to the proteins in the body to form what are called advanced glycated end products – or the very appropriate acronym AGEs. This process is known as glycation. It’s irreversible, and damages the structure of proteins like collagen, so that your immune system has to remove the damaged protein and produce more collagen. This cruel process then depletes you of Vitamin C, so you can’t produce more collagen, leading to a build-up of AGEs, which causes inflammation.

Not only does sugar age your skin – it gives you cellulite too. Cellulite, those lumpy fat deposits that are the bane of women’s thighs and bottoms worldwide, is frequently caused by a build-up of sugar.

The single most important factor that accelerates ageing is insulin…triggered by sugar. But fortunately, the body has an amazing ability to heal itself, given the right ingredients to work with. Cutting out sugar and reducing your insulin can bring huge health benefits, as well as giving birth to gorgeous skin, if you can just control your urges when they hit!

More glow, more vitality – everything you put into your body is visible when you look in the mirror. So check out your skin – what are you waiting for?

Do you struggle with a reliance on sugar? Or have you given up sugar, and found that it’s benefited your health and your skin? Why not tell us in a comment below?